March 20, 2010
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Milwaukee, Wis. – Georgia Tech, which defeated Oklahoma State Friday night to win its first NCAA Tournament game since 2005, advance to face No. 2 seed Ohio State in the Midwest Regional second round at 2:20 p.m. Eastern time Sunday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis. All games in the NCAA Tournament are televised by CBS (WGCL-TV, Ch. 46 in Atlanta).
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (23-12, 7-9 ACC, #10 seed) vs.
Ohio State Buckeyes (28-7, 14-4 Big Ten, #2 seed)
Date: Sunday, March 21, 2010
Tipoff: 2:20 p.m. Eastern time
Site: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wis.
Television: CBS (WGCL Ch. 46 in Atlanta); Ian Eagle play-by-play, Jim Spanarkel color
Radio: Georgia Tech/ISP Sports Network, live on flagship station WQXI-AM (790 the Zone) and WYAY-FM (106.7). Wes Durham play-by-play, Randy Waters color.
On the web: Live stats available at NCAA.com. Live video streaming on MMOD.com.
Series History: Ohio State leads, 10-3
Tech in the NCAA Tournament: Tech is 23-15 all-time (7-5 under Paul Hewitt). Final Four appearances in 1990 and 2004.
As the No. 10 seed: Georgia Tech is 1-1 as the No. 7 seed (2007, Midwest Regional).
At the Bradley Center: Georgia Tech is 5-0 all-time in the Bradley Center, 5-0 in NCAA Tournament games.
National Rankings: Ohio State is No. 5 in the Associated Press poll, No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Georgia Tech is receiving votes in both polls.
> The Yellow Jackets, 23-12 overall, 7-9 in the ACC, continued a late-season rally by winning their fourth game in the last five with Friday’s 64-59 win. Prior to coming to Milwaukee, Tech had won three games in the ACC Tournament to reach the championship game after finishing seventh in the regular season.
> Tech has won its first-round NCAA Tournament game for the third time in five appearances under head coach Paul Hewitt, and for the 11th time in 16 tournament appearances.
> Tech is in the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in its history, for the fifth time in 10 seasons under Hewitt, and for the first time since 2007. The Yellow Jackets have a 23-15 all-time record, and a 7-5 mark under Hewitt.
> Tech has played NCAA Tournament games in the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on two previous occasions and has a 5-0 record in the building. In 1992, the No. 7 seed Yellow Jackets defeated Houston and Southern California on the way to the Sweet 16. In 2004, No. 3 seed Tech beat Northern Iowa and Boston College to begin its run to the national championship game.
> Tech is a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time. In 2007, the Yellow Jackets lost to UNLV, 67-63, in the first round at the United Center in Chicago.
> Tech has been placed in the Midwest Region for the seventh time (1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2007) and has an 9-6 record in that region.
> Tech has won 20 games this season for the first time since 2007, for the 14th time in its history, and for the fourth time under head coach Paul Hewitt. Tech’s 23 wins are the most for the program since the Yellow Jackets’ run to the 2004 national championship game, when it won 28.
> Tech came into the ACC Tournament having dropped five of its last seven contests, but have won three straight games and reached the finals by returning to the strong defense that has been the Yellow Jackets’ trademark for most of the season.
> Ohio State, 29-7 overall, finished 14-4 in the Big Ten, tied for first place, The Buckeyes won their first-round NCAA Tournament game over UC-Santa Barbara, 68-51. The Yellow Jackets and Buckeyes are meeting for the third time in the NCAA Tournament, with OSU having won the previous two encounters.
Deja Vu?
Georgia Tech’s position in the 2010 NCAA Tournament has a few parallels to its 2004 run to the national finals. The Yellow Jackets begin in Milwaukee at the Bradley Center, where it began the tournament in 2004. They are in the Midwest Region, which feeds into St. Louis, as they did in 2004. They faced Oklahoma State, a team they defeated in the 2004 national semifinals, in the first round. The No. 1 seed is Kansas, a team Tech defeated in the 2004 regional final in St. Louis. Northern Iowa, the team Tech beat in its opening round game in Milwaukee in 2004, is the No. 9 seed in the Midwest.
Tech’s NCAA Tournament History
Georgia Tech is playing in its fifth NCAA Tournament in 10 seasons under head coach Paul Hewitt and for the 16th time in the history of the program. Fourteen of those appearances have occurred since 1985.
The 2004 and 2005 appearances were the Yellow Jackets’ first back-to-back appearances since Bobby Cremins led the Institute to the Big Dance nine straight years from 1985-93.
Tech has a record of 23-15 in NCAA Tournament play, highlighted by its 2004 trip to the NCAA title game as well as a Final Four berth in 1990. The Yellow Jackets have reached the NCAA Sweet 16 seven times (1960, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2004).
Georgia Tech has won at least one game in 11 of its 16 previous NCAA Tournament appearances.
Tech in the Bradley Center
Georgia Tech has had a successful history with NCAA Tournament games in the Bradley Center, winning all four of its previous games in the building. The Yellow Jackets won those four games by an average of 3.8 points.
In 1992, the No. 7 seed Yellow Jackets defeated Houston and Southern California on the way to the Sweet 16. In 2004, No. 3 seed Tech beat Northern Iowa and Boston College to begin its run to the national championship game.
The game that always will be remembered in the minds of Georgia Tech fans was the “Miracle in Milwaukee” of 1992, when James Forrest’s desperation three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Yellow Jackets 79-78 victory over No. 2 seeded Southern Cal.
USC’s Rodney Chatman drove the baseline past Forrest for a basket with just 2.2 seconds that put the Trojans ahead by two. Matt Geiger’s inbounds pass from under the basket, intended for Jon Barry, was tipped away, and with just 0.8 seconds on the clock, Geiger inbounded from midcourt to Forrest near the sideline, and the Tech freshman threw in the first three-pointer of his career from about 25 feet.
Series History with Ohio State
> Georgia Tech and Ohio State have some post-season history, having met twice in NCAA Tournament play and once in the NIT. The Buckeyes have a 10-3 overall lead in the series, but the Yellow Jackets have won the last two meetings, most recently in the 2003 ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
> Ohio State defeated Tech in the second round of the 1960 tournament, 86-69, on their way to the national championship. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools in the first NCAA Tournament in the Yellow Jackets’ basketball history. Tech celebrated the 50th anniversary of that accomplishment this year.
> The teams also met in the 1991 Midwest Regional in Dayton, Ohio, a 65-61 Ohio State victory, and in the 2003 NIT first-round in Atlanta, a 72-58 Tech win.
